


Who Do You Love?

by venueska



Category: Love Island (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Rewrite, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Lack of Communication, Separations, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:01:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24499858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/venueska/pseuds/venueska
Summary: Bobby’s not the jealous type… or at least he doesn’t want to be. It’s hellish to be apart from you, but it’s more hellish than you know. OR: What could have happened on an otherwise loyal bobby route where you wind up catching a few more feelings for Elijah (after saving him) than intended.
Relationships: Bobby McKenzie & Main Character (Love Island), Elijah & Main Character (Love Island)
Kudos: 14





	Who Do You Love?

**Author's Note:**

> Songs for this: Can I Be Him (James Arthur), Dancing On My Own (Calum Scott), Look At You (Seth Ennis), Happily (One Direction), Does He Know? (One Direction), Loved You First (One Direction) (yes deep down i’m still 15 shut up)

Bobby was a hopeless romantic, a sucker for a good love story. The only reason he agreed to go on Love Island was for the sake of finding one of his own. The greatest love stories have the toughest obstacles, but the bigger the struggle, the bigger the reward, right? But in all honesty, even he was starting to resent this damned game for all of its emotional rollercoasters. 

First, Henrik beat him to it at the recoupling. His heart dropped so hard it bounced right back into his throat, catching his tongue before he could say anything more than, “Yeah, we will. Go, be with your man.” He shut his eyes at the memory of it. He tried not to think of the way your smile faltered. He tried not to think of the way your dress fit around you, the way it was usually his arms doing the job, but not that night. He tried not to, but he failed.

Then, Henrik switched to Blake and Marisol switched to Graham, leaving both of you single. It was evidently more than fate, since it was you who suggested coupling up. It was him who jinxed it when he let his doubts get the better of him, saying, “It’s not just about you and me, is it?” 

_But it was._ It was about you and him. At least it was supposed to be, but instead, you were forced to couple up with someone else entirely. Bobby remembered having to stifle a laugh and then a cuss, because how was he supposed to couple up with anyone else when you were right there? How was he supposed to right stand there and watch _you_ couple up with someone else? 

“Elijah.” His name rolled off your tongue effortlessly like it fit in your mouth the way Bobby’s name used to. It was the hardest thing Bobby ever had to witness, even if you did start off claiming it was going to be a friendship couple.

Or, at least, he _thought_ it was the hardest thing he ever had to witness.

The night after the recoupling, Bobby found himself waking in the night from a dreamless sleep, his heart racing. He checked beside him instinctively checking to make sure you were still sleeping beside him, but you never were. It was a wall of pillows dividing him and Hope. His eyes shot to the separate bed beside him where you and Elijah lay. You stir slightly, giving a slow yawn and opening your eyes. Bobby’s stomach turned as you wound your arms around Elijah and nestled yourself into the crook of his neck.

 _Don’t look then,_ his mind chided, but his eyes stayed glued to the two of you.

Elijah smiles. He opens his eyes and his expression changes entirely. Bobby feels a flurry of different emotions as he realizes Elijah would rather have Chelsea beside him. 

“Hey… buddy,” Elijah says quietly. Bobby quickly turns his attention to staring at the ceiling, but he can’t help but listen in. 

“What was that? I was comfy.” Your playful tone hinting at slight offense.

“A bit coupley though, isn’t it?” Elijah points out. Bobby wishes he could tear his heart out from his chest and put it through a paper shredder. That might hurt less. Elijah ruffles your hair and you let out a giggle. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” you say, returning the favor. The sound of birds chirping distracts the conversation for a brief moment and Bobby lets himself believe you’ve gone back to sleep, preferably far away from Elijah on the bed.

“You know what? I messed up your hair thinking it would make you look a little less gorgeous this morning.” Elijah laughs and the rustling of sheets that follows causes Bobby’s stomach to turn again. “But no. You still look beautiful as ever.”

Your laugh. Your arms. Your morning breath, your bed head. These were all Bobby’s to enjoy just a week ago. Now they were Elijah’s. 

“You ever wake up and for a few seconds you have no idea where you are?” Elijah asks through the dark. 

_Yes,_ Bobby would have said, thinking back to just moments ago.

“You mean when you stare up at the ceiling and realise it’s not your ceiling?” you ask, a yawn taking over your face while you nod. “Then you frantically search the room for a familiar landmark and realize you’re in the Villa.”

You. You were his landmark in every early morning, crowded room and startled awakening just like tonight’s.

“I completely forgot I was in here,” Elijah says. _Lucky bastard,_ Bobby thinks. “I could have slept all day. I was exhausted. But Lottie and Noah’s snoring…” You laugh.

“I know! Now they’re sharing a bed, too.” You shake your head and jab over your shoulder at them with your thumb. “It’s amplified. It’s like they’re trying to communicate…”

“Then that strange purring woke me up. Where is it coming from? The walls?”

“It’s got to be one of them lot,” you say. You and Elijah sit up slightly and Bobby clenches his eyes shut until he hears you lie back down.

Bobby smiles quietly to himself. It’s you. He knows it’s you, because you shared a bed with one another for two straight weeks and he would wake in the night just like he had tonight. The rhythmic purring comforted him in a way and it guided him back to sleep. He feels an absurd ache to hear it again.

“It’s been a strange couple of days,” you’re saying when Bobby tunes back in. 

“How are you taking all the changes? You feeling alright?” Elijah says, reaching over to push a strand of your hair out of your face.

“I’m calm. The drama’s all over now. I feel like I can finally relax and enjoy life again.” For some reason, your response makes Bobby feel a little hurt. He feels every bone in his body tense up as he rolls over to face the pillow wall.

“Who knows, some of the best relationships start off as friendships, right?” Elijah says. Bobby can practically hear the flirty smile. 

“You’re right about that.” You reach over and gently draw lines on the top of his hand with your fingernail. “Let’s see what happens.”

“I think you should come here, babe.”

“Oh yeah?” You’re flirting. You’re _flirting?_ Bobby’s heartbeat is in his ears now. No way you’re flirting with Elijah. No way you’re fluttering your eyelashes at him, leaning in far too close in mornings far too quiet, letting him squeeze your shoulder and touch your lips with his. There’s just no way.

There’s a moment of silence. Bobby chooses this moment to look over his shoulder. Your arms are wrapped around Elijah’s shoulders, your back concealing the happenings in between with your lips pressed together. Elijah’s hands wander slightly, pulling down the strap of your night dress, and Bobby averts his wide eyes. He reckons he probably looks like a deer in headlights. That’s what it feels like. 

“I wasn’t expecting that…” Elijah says, quickly cut off by another kiss. “I could get used to that.”

 _You won’t,_ Bobby thinks. He’s decided. He’s got to up the graft on you before Elijah - or anyone else, for that matter - gets the chance. It’s a kiss. It’s just a kiss, right? It’s not bits in the shower or the hide away. It’s not a date. It’s a silly morning kiss, which is nothing you haven’t already done with Bobby first. He’s still got a chance. So why does he feel like he’s been run over by a thousand cattle and swept into a bin?

Light spills into the room. Groans fill the air as the light illuminates the mix of sweat and a couple smeared tears on Bobby’s face. Graham chucks a pillow at the window. Bobby presses his face into one of the pillows from the wall between him and Hope.

“Get stuffed! I need ten more minutes,” says Graham as Marisol sits up beside him. 

“That purring woke him up. It’s a cat right?” she says, rubbing the sleep from her eye and throwing the duvet off herself.

“We haven’t got a cat,” you say. Bobby sits up and turns to look at you and Elijah cuddled up to one another, trying not to look too distraught. 

“Come back to bed, babe.” Graham tugs Marisol’s hand and they curl back up into each other in bed.

Chelsea squeals as Elijah climbs out of bed. “Elijah! We’re both up. We must be on the same wavelength - “

“I’m up too,” you cut in, your gaze uncharacteristically cold as you pull your hair into a low bun. 

Marisol studies your face with curiosity. “So am I.”

“And me,” Bobby hears himself say, eyes on yours while you barely spare him a glance. 

“OK great, we’re all up.” Chelsea rolls her eyes, turning back to Elijah. “So, Elijah, you were saying - “

“It’s gorgeous out there.” Elijah barely lets her finish speaking, giving you his full attention. Bobby almost feels bad for Chelsea. “MC, fancy a swim?” Elijah raises his eyebrows at you.

“I love mornings! I don’t know about a swim but breakfast in the sun would be lush,” you say, pinching the duvet between your fingers. You flash Marisol a smile as she sits up again.

“That does sound good,” she says, eyes shimmering.

“I’ll go for a swim with you, Elijah. I mean, if you’re looking for someone to swim with. Or to watch you swim.” Chelsea blubbers on, but immediately stops when Noah sits up in bed like a jack-in-the-box. Bobby raises his eyebrows when he notices that Noah’s donning a black denim jacket and trousers. 

Bobby realizes how close he is to the edge of the bed when Hope jolts up, shifts the entire bed, and he has to grip the sheets to stay on. Hope and Noah beam at each other and Bobby loses himself in their romance, then his balance. 

“Hope… I mean, er…” Noah tries to hide his lovesick grin. “Does anyone want a cup of tea?”

As everyone in the room chips in their orders, Hope and Noah practically leap out of bed to put the kettle on. Bobby springs up from the floor.

“Right, I’m making pancakes.” Bobby grins as if nothing has happened.

“I love you so much right now, man.” Rahim gives him a genuine smile.

At the promise of Bobby’s pancakes, the entire room rises from the dead and heads to their respective dressing rooms. 

“Who wants to be my sous chef?” Bobby says, his eyes on you as he waits for you to volunteer. Before you’ve even acknowledged the question, Lottie’s arm shoots up from beneath the duvet.

“I’ll do it. But I want to decorate them with witchy stuff.” She gives him a pout, earning an eyeroll as he glances wistfully at you. “Pleeease Bobby.”

“Fine, but nothing that’ll put people off their food,” he sighs. 

“Someone’s got the kettle on and we’re having magic pancakes for brekkie,” Gary says. “This day is already looking quality.”

Bobby prays he’s right about that.

~~~

Bobby’s pancakes were always met with bouts of praise. They were insanely easy to make but they were a crowd-pleaser, so he liked to pretend he had to do a rain dance to make them. As you walk into the room, he’s ladling a spoonful into the pan with grace, but winds up making it a couple sizes too big when he spots your smile. Recovering quickly, he turns to chop up the fruit, then back to the pan when he flips the pancake with one hand. The islanders give him a cheer and he gives them a graceful smile.

A stack forms and Lottie helpfully plates them, serving breakfast to the other islanders. You finally take a seat as they disperse into groups. Bobby flips a perfectly golden pancake, beaming at you. 

“Gorgeous as ever,” he says and you sit up a bit taller.

“Aww, thanks, Bobby,” you say. He winks at you, gesturing to the stack of pancakes with a spatula.

“Hope you’re hungry! Right, there are a load of toppings. The way you answer this question is, like, detrimental to our chemistry, okay?” Bobby says, giving you a serious look that clashes with his tone. “How do you take your pancakes?”

“The magic’s in the design,” Lottie chirps from beside him. 

“What do you fancy?” Bobby says, stacking another hot pancake onto the platter.

“Oh, how else? Chocolate spread and bananas,” you reply as Lottie plates up some fresh crepes filled with chocolate and banana.

“I’m relieved to hear you say that,” Bobby tells you. “For a second there I thought you’d go vanilla on me!”

You wrinkle your nose at him. “Who, me?” You and Bobby erupt in laughter as Lottie carefully draws a pentagram atop of your breakfast with chocolate sauce. She proudly pops it in front of you.

“Voila!” She blows off the tip of the bottle and flips her hair over her shoulder at you. “Bon appetit.”

“This looks incredible,” you say, cutting into it and taking a bite. “Delicious, too! What’s inspired all this then?”

Bobby hesitates as he quickly tries to make up a falsely inspiring message for the day. “I think we all deserve it.” He shrugs. “And I’m feeling really optimistic.”

You hungrily work your way through the rest of your pancakes. You look up at Bobby who is smiling broadly as he whips up more of his signature pancake batter.

“I’ve been meaning to say. I think what you did for Noah and Hope is really sweet,” you say, giving them both a heartfelt look. “You could have put yourself first, but you chose to help out your mates.”

“There was never an option really,” Bobby says. He thinks back to last night, trying not to remember the anger broiling in him that the two of you were kept apart again. “Noah would have been gutted if Hope left. Plus the romantic in me knows they’re the real deal.”

“What are you two gossiping about?” Lottie says, sprinkling chopped fruit over Chelsea’s breakfast before Chelsea saunters off.

“The recoupling. Look, ask Lottie,” Bobby says, gesturing toward her.

“Ask me what?” Lottie asks confusedly.

“Why did you tell Noah to couple up with you?” 

Lottie rolls her eyes and smiles. “Err, because he and Hope are the greatest love story we’ll ever know.” Bobby tries not to overthink the hesitant look on your face. You glance at him, but your expression has turned unreadable. “I just knew…”

“That you had to keep Noah in the game? That’s how I felt about Hope,” Bobby says, nodding.

“So you two planned this?” you say, absentmindedly glancing toward the pool where Chelsea, Elijah and Shannon sit. This doesn’t go unnoticed by Bobby, who feels the knot in his stomach tightening again.

“Brilliant minds,” he says. “I’m so glad we were on the same page. I’d have been gutted if either of them went.”

You push your sunglasses off your nose and into your hair as Lottie gives Bobby a soft look. “Same, mate,” she says. The two of them share a high five and you swirl your drink in your hand. 

“It was totally worth it if Noah and Hope have a chance at recoupling. And everyone else is perfectly matched up - “

Your voice comes out before you can reconsider your words. “Really? What makes you say that?” 

Bobby eyes you, unsure if you’re jealous or paranoid. “It’s obvious. Gary picked Chelsea because he fancies the pants off her,” he says, and immediately regrets it when Lottie’s face falls. She moves Bobby away from the sink with her hip and puts the dirty bowls and plates in it with a loud clatter. “Careful, Lozza!”

“Stop hogging the sink if you’re not using it. I’m trying to clean up.” Lottie’s tone has turned sharp again, and she refuses to look at Bobby now. He mentally slaps himself in the forehead for forgetting Lottie’s feelings for Gary, all for the sake of testing your reaction. He slaps himself in the face for that one, because it’s not fair to test your emotions like a lab experiment. Then he slaps himself in the face by recalling the morning kiss between you and Elijah. He suddenly stiffens.

“Everyone seems loved up,” he says, shrugging as he moves out of Lottie’s way. “I think it’s all worked out really well.”

You raise en eyebrow and drop your fork to your plate. Lottie is staring at Bobby in disbelief. “I think it’s time to see what everyone else is up to,” you say loudly. Before he can say anything more, you’ve dashed off.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Lottie says to him, shaking her head. “Everyone’s loved up? Everyone pairs up perfectly? Look, I’m sorry and we’re good mates and all that, but you do realize that pairs us up together, right?”

Bobby glances out at the daybeds where you’ve settled for the moment. “It does, doesn’t it? That’s right, you’ve got that thing for Gary.” Bobby heaves a sigh. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Lozza.” He nods in your direction. “Why do you reckon she stormed off like that though?”

Lottie leans on the counter, following his gaze to look at you. “You want the truth or…?”

“Of course I want the truth,” Bobby scoffs incredulously. “I wouldn’t ask you if I knew it for myself.”

“I think she’s still got feelings for you,” Lottie says lowly. “I mean, the entire time we were in Casa Amor… I reckon all but one was at her feet and she didn’t give them the time of day. When we asked her why - you know, she was coupled up with Henrik at the time. We couldn’t figure out why she was so loyal to him when she was obviously huffed that he picked her in the first place…”

“Go on,” Bobby says cautiously, watching you walk over to the gym to join Graham, Ibrahim and Gary. He can’t seem to keep his eyes off you.

“She said she missed you,” Lottie said, her voice barely above a whisper. Bobby finally looked at Lottie, eyebrows raised. “Yeah. We asked her later on too and we asked her if she was worried what you boys were getting up to. You weren’t in the video, but Henrik was. He was kissing Blake and we expected her to be furious but she literally said, ‘I really only care about Bobby.’“

“Did she?” Bobby can’t fight the growing smile on his face. Lottie nods, clearly pleased that he was excited about the news. “That… that certainly changes things. I’m just a bit confused is all.”

“What’s there to be confused about?” Lottie cries out, throwing her hands in the air and gesturing the gym. “Go out there and get your girl!”

Bobby doesn’t move from the kitchen. He leans on his elbow, concealing his mouth with his palm. “Yeah, but here’s the thing. When I woke up this morning, I sort of caught her and Elijah kissing. Twice, maybe thrice.”

Lottie’s jaw drops. “No way.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Like, what? First you’re telling me you want to couple up, then you’re doing morning bits with the first guy you share a bed with?” He shakes his head, grabbing a rag and circling it across the counter. “Chels is her best friend, too. At least that’s what I thought.”

A thoughtful look crosses Lottie’s face. “I mean, we still haven’t had a word with her about it, have we? So we don’t _really_ know where her head’s at. She could be testing Elijah’s loyalty to Chelsea.”

That’s an idea that hadn’t crossed his mind yet. It certainly helped him perk up.

“Good point,” Bobby says, his eyes drifting to look at you a little while longer.

Lottie ruffles Bobby’s hair. “Hey. Cheer up,” she says. “Things will start looking up again soon.” As Lottie finishes washing up the dishes, Chelsea comes up to the counter, propping herself up on top of it and grinning at Bobby.

“Bobby…” she says, toying with a strand of hair. She pauses to look over his face and frowns. “You look absolutely doggish.”

“Doggish?” Bobby says, frowning. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You look like a puppy who’s just been kicked,” Chelsea explains, waving a hand to dismiss the topic change. “Right, sorry. I’ve got some very important news for you… _and_ me. In a way. Because it helps us both, but I’ve already got it, so - “

Lottie groans. “Get on with it, Chelsea!”

“Sorry! I was just talking to MC over there,” she says, gesturing to the pool. “She told me…” She chews her lip to fight a growing smile. “She told me she’d rather be coupled up with you!”

Lottie catches Bobby’s eye and mouths, “ _I told you_.”

“She did?” Bobby says, puffing out his chest with pride. He glances over to you.

“Would I lie? Listen, I think this is just fantastic news,” Chelsea chatters excitedly, gripping onto Lottie’s arm. “This is great for you too, hun! If Elijah’s freed up for me, Gary’s freed up for you! It’s perfect.”

Lottie’s expression doesn’t let on much. Bobby’s does the opposite. He catches his reflection in a nearby mirror and swipes a hand through his dreads which only leaves them messier than before, but he doesn’t mind. Every fear from this morning slowly melts away. Maybe this was your story after all. Lottie and Chelsea quickly leave the kitchen as you come over, hips swaying, with your empty water bottle in hand.

Bobby comes up to you, suddenly intimidated by the intimacy of the moment alone.

“Hey!” you greet him, your face brighter despite coming into the shade. “What’s up?”

He looks you straight in the eye and forces a smile. No way you’d see through it if he made eye contact, right? “Huh? Nothing. Everything’s cool. _Smooth_ ,” he says, gliding a hand through the air. “What’s up with you?”

You’re unconvinced, fresh from your lie detecting classes with Shannon. “Are you sure? You look like you want to get something off your chest…”

Bobby glances down at his chest and subconsciously puffs it out again. 

“Right, I can’t do this,” he says, reaching behind his ear and giving it a scratch. Chelsea’s comment about him being doggish comes to mind. “I know.”

Your face contorts in confusion. “What do you know?”

He looks around to make sure nobody’s listening in and whispers to you, “I know you’d rather be coupled up with me.” He gives you his best attempt at a smolder - the one you remarked looked more like a sneeze. 

You glance around for Chelsea as your cheeks turn crimson red. “Well, that took all of five minutes to get back to you…”

“Look, can we talk privately?” Bobby’s hand finds your elbow and his heartbeat is so loud and so fast you can almost hear it. You oblige, heading to the roof terrace as is the norm for you two.

Laughter from the other islanders floats up from the pool to the terrace where you and Bobby sit, your knees inches away. You can feel the heat radiating off him, as if the sun wasn’t blazing enough. 

“I’ve got feelings for you,” you confess, and he almost feels shocked. His face shows it off. He knew you’d rather be coupled up with him, but he didn’t know feelings were involved. He’s relieved to know he’s not alone in that. “They don’t go away just because we’re not together.”

He considers taking your hand in his, but ultimately decides against it, not wanting you know how sweaty his palms got just talking to you. “I know. I think about you all the time…” He sighs, shaking his head. “Under different circumstances we’d be together. Just because we’re not doesn’t mean I don’t care.”

“I know. Same for me.” Your shoulders relax. You glance down at the other Islanders in the pool, and suddenly the faraway laughter doesn’t seem so distant. Real people, real feelings were involved. The realness of it all is scary for you, but it’s terrifying for Bobby, whose leg picks up a nervous bounce “So what do we do now?”

“It’s a tricky situation. I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes,” Bobby says, trying hard not to glance at your lips, then trying even harder not to think about Elijah being the last to kiss them. _Shit_ , Elijah. “It’s not just about you and me, is it?”

_It should be. It should be._

“I get that.” As if you’ve read his mind, you take Bobby’s hand and give it a gentle squeeze. The sound of more splashing and laughter and Hope’s gleeful scream fill your ears, drawing you back into reality.

“We don’t have to rush anything. But I know what I want.” You see him try to fight off a smile, but he’s clearly pleased.

He takes a deep breath and his cheeks betray him as a smile finally takes over. He’s sweating, but not from the heat. “Right, I need to cool off. Time for a dip in the pool.” Bobby shakes his head. “I was not expecting this today…” 

He flashes you a smile and heads down to the pool.

~~~

The rest of the day feels breezy. Not literally of course, because the weather is scorching. But it feels nice to have had confirmation coming from you about your stance on the coupling. Bobby finds himself lounging on the bean bags with a settled stomach and chest. The group is lazy, simply basking in the sunlight as if they wait for nothing in particular.

Noah is picking at the label on his bean bag, gazing over at Hope and Lottie off to the side. Bobby follows his gaze. Bored, he tries to find something worth thinking about. Hope is putting her best foot forward for the first time in forever, wearing a brand new swimsuit with yellow squares all over. Were they squares? Bobby studied it a little harder. No, pineapple. Or were they squares? As you walk over, his thoughts are interrupted and he shields his face from the sun. 

“Hey, MC,” he says.

“Yeah, Bobby?” You raise your eyebrows at him and put your sunglasses back on.

He squints against the sunlight, his brown eyes a vibrant shade of gold. “What do you make of… fruit drinks?” 

You arch your brow. “You mean like orange juice?”

“No, no, no. I mean those drinks that come _in_ fruits,” Bobby clarifies. “You know, like a pina colada served in a pineapple or something. I think the idea is really fun, but I’ve never actually had one, and I was just thinking…” He puts on his best impression of a thoughtful version of himself. “MC’s a woman of the world. If anyone will have a solid take on fruit drinks, it’s her.”

You burst out laughing at his impression and a few of the others smile. 

“I think they’re kinda fun. It’s nice to change things up a bit sometimes, isn’t it?” you muse, laying in the cool grass. 

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Bobby says excitedly. He loved how in sync you two always were, how laid back you were. It was nice to have a change of subject in the Villa rather than always chattering anxiously about recoupling.

Bobby nods decisively. “Alright, I’ll have to make it my mission to try it once I get home,” he says. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to do it alone. From the sounds of it, you’d had them before. Maybe you could ease him into it or recommend one to him. Would you go out of town to find one? Maybe on holiday together…?

Chelsea takes a sip out of her water bottle and asks him, “What made you think about this in the first place, Bobby?”

Bobby tunes back in. “Oh. I was looking at the little yellow squares on Hope’s bikini,” Bobby says, pinching his fingers together slightly. He motioned over to Hope and Lottie. “They reminded me of pineapple chunks.”

A familiar _DING!_ kills the conversation as Gary jumps up. “I’ve got a text!”

_‘Islanders, how well do you know your partner? It’s time to find out in today’s challenge._

_#youdontevenknowme #whoevenareyou’_

Marisol pulls her hair back into a ponytail. “I’m just relieved we don’t have to get covered in slime,” she says gleefully.

Chelsea chewed her lip and clapped her hands together. She pulled another bean bag closer to herself and motioned to Gary. “Gary, come over here. I need to tell you about my childhood.” She starts before Gary even takes a seat beside her. “When I was fifteen, I had a pet hamster named Edward Cullen…”

Hope sits up in her sun lounger as a thought occurs to her. “Wait, so I have to answer questions about Bobby?” Hope casts him a nervous look.

Noah looks equally unsure. “And I’ve got to answer questions about Lottie.”

Lottie barks out a laugh. “Ha! I love it. It’s gonna be utter chaos.”

~~~

The entire group later congregated by the sun loungers, anxiously quizzing each other about random details that might come up in the challenge coming up. Most of the mismatched couples are laughing at their partners as they each fail question after question.

“It’s not a big deal if we don’t win this,” Chelsea says, leaning back in her lounger in defeat. “It’s just a game after all…” The lopsided frown on her face tells otherwise.

“What are you talking about? We’re a solid couple. It’s in the bag,” Gary says, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Graham stretches out and watches on with a smirk on his face. Gary looks at him. “What are you grinning at?”

“You,” Graham says flatly as Marisol applies sun cream. “Thinking you’re going to win this.”

“You’re in the same boat!” Chelsea cries out shrilly.

Graham shakes his head and looks at Marisol. “Marisol and me know each other pretty well. Ain’t that right, babe?”

“Whatever the outcome, we’ll get to know each other a bit better,” Marisol says.

Bobby drapes an arm around Hope’s shoulders and clears his throat, sticking his chest out. “I’m pretty confident that _Bope_ is gonna nail this challenge.”

Hope grimaces, shaking his arm off her. “Never ever say ‘Bope’ again.”

“Not a fan? Hobby it is then.” Bobby grins as you erupt into giggles. “Now let’s stare into each other’s eyes for thirty seconds to _really_ get into each other’s heads.” He opens his eyes wide and stares hard into Hope’s eyes.

“Stop that.” Hope pushes his face to the side. “You’re creeping me out.”

Lottie laughs and says, “This afternoon is going to be a real laugh.” A few others in the group nod in agreement.

Elijah comes over and takes a seat next to you, lacing his fingers through yours and kissing you on the forehead. “What do you think? Are we going to win this or what?”

“Let’s just have a laugh,” you say, giving his hand a squeeze. 

“I like your attitude. Let’s just have fun with it!” Elijah beams at the rest of the group. 

You’re sharing a bench with Lottie, with her at the head and you on the edge. As Elijah joins you, you’re relieved to be able to lean on him to give your back a break. Bobby’s eyes narrow at the sight.

“Exactly, it’ll be a laugh and we’ll get to know each other one way or another.”

Elijah flashes another smile at you. You turn away to hide the blush on your cheeks and catch Bobby’s eye. He’s watching the two of you intently. You shake your hand out of Elijah’s and adjust your swimsuit self-consciously. Bobby’s stomach gives a familiar churn and the look on his face is suddenly uncharacteristically grim.

“I’ve got a text!” Graham announces, pulling out his phone.

_‘Islanders, it’s time to make your way to the fire pit to play Mr and Mrs._

_#allaboutbae #howdeepisyourlove’_

“I can’t wait,” Bobby says. Even he is a bit surprised how flat his own tone is.

~~~

The Islanders each clutch heart shaped blackboards and white chalk, sat beside their partners. Some of them don a confident smile. Others look a little sick. 

Marisol smiles confidently as she takes her place in front of the scoreboard. “Islanders! It’s time to see how well you know your partners in today’s challenge.”

“Let me at those questions.” Bobby grabs Hope’s hand and puts it in the air. “Hobby for the win!”

Lottie shakes her head, a small smile on her lips. “There is no way you’re winning this, Bobby.”

“That’s fighting talk. Don’t underestimate my powers of observation,” he says, puffing his chest again as the group laughs. 

Marisol grabs back their attention. “We’ll start with the boys. What did your girl want to be when she grew up?”

Bobby barely thinks about it, scribbling down the first career that came to mind.

Elijah reveals the answer on his board. It reads _Model_. Bobby tries not to feel too glad he’s got it wrong. He tries to catch your eye and mouths, “ _Rookie mistake.”_

“I had no idea so I put model,” Elijah says, giving you a sheepish smile.

“Err, no. I put… musician.” 

“I was never going to guess that,” Elijah shakes his head.

Lottie stifles a laugh that comes out as a snort. “It’s literally her career.”

You pat Elijah’s arm gently. “We are just getting warmed up.” You offer him a stunning smile. Bobby rolls his eyes.

“Exactly. Next round we’re smashing it,” he says. Chelsea looks just as tense as Bobby now.

Gary has guessed that Chelsea wanted to be a weather reporter, which gets the whole group laughing. “A show jumper,” she corrects him sternly. “Who wants to grow up to be a weather reporter? We hate weather reporters!”

“Hope did,” Noah says quietly. Bobby glances down at the answer scrawled on his board. He realizes there’s a low chance that weather reporter is pronounced ‘mime’ in Scotland. Hope turns her board around to reveal that it does indeed say _Weather Girl_.

“Noah!” Marisol puts a hand on her hip. “You can only answer questions about Lottie!”

“Well, I got that wrong,” Bobby says, spinning his board around and laughing. “I said Mime. Right ladies, over to you! Where did your partner have his first kiss?”

The girls look a bit dumbfounded by the question but start writing regardless. 

“Chalk down, ladies. Time to share your answers,” Bobby announces, rubbing his hands together, prepared for you to get it wrong. He’s a bit comforted knowing he knows all of the answers he would have needed and that Elijah could hardly say the same, but he’s unsure if you would knew the same about him. His curiosity gets the better of him and he calls on you first.

“We discussed this! Elijah’s definitely a quickie behind the bike sheds kinda guy.” You look over at Elijah to see if you’re right. He beams and pumps his fist.

“Read it and weep - “ He spins his board proudly around to reveal a matching answer. “Bike sheds at school!”

Bobby’s own grin is wiped right off. His mood is definitely a little offset for the rest of the round, but he knows it can’t compare the the dread creeping up Gary and Chelsea, who haven’t scored at all. 

“What was the name if your girl’s first pet?” Marisol calls out and you give Elijah an unsure smile. Gary looks baffled, scratching his head nervously.

Noah glances at Bobby’s board and shakes his head. Bobby scribbles it out and writes something else down. Noah gives him another sad shake of the head. Bobby erases everything else, giving it another shot. 

“I’m feeling confident,” Elijah says when asked. “Tuna the cat.”

“That’s adorable. But is it correct?” Marisol raises her eyebrows to look at you. Bobby feels his heart drop to his stomach when you nod.

“Yes it is!” You beam and throw your arms around Elijah’s neck.

Bobby’s voice comes out booming a bit more than he meant it to, startling you out of the hug. “Right lassies, if your partner could only eat one food for the rest of their life, what would it be?”

Bobby looks at Hope desperately and lays on thick. “Hope, my light, my life. What’s my favorite food?”

“Easy, cake,” Hope states. Bobby grabs his chest like he’s been mortally wounded.

“Noooooo…” Bobby shakes his head. 

“You’re joking right? It _has_ to be cake!” Hope looks around desperately and catches you biting back a smile.

Elijah looks at you and says in a low voice, “You know Bobby pretty well, what is it?”

“Spaghetti hoops on toast,” you say back.

“It’s spaghetti hoops on toast,” Bobby says, licking his lips. He pretends he didn’t notice your exchange with Elijah. “A culinary classic.”

Ibrahim gives him a disgruntled look. “Are you nine years old? No one still eats that.”

“Course they do.” Bobby crosses his arms over his chest. “Food is all about comfort and home.”

You smile, leaning forward on your elbows. “And that’s what reminds you of home?”

“Reminds me of being a kid,” Bobby replies. “If I wanted food that felt like home it’d have to be a Jamaican fusion.” The conversation goes back and forth. Finally Bobby brings it back to the challenge at hand. “Chelsea, time to get you and Gary on that board. What’s Gary’s food for life?”

Chelsea sighs and tentatively turns her board around. The expression on her face is already admitting defeat. “I just guessed. I put down…” She inhales and winces in advance. “His nan’s roast dinner.”

Gary jumps up excitedly. He fist pumps the air with joy. “Yes! Get in!” He pulls Chelsea in for a victorious hug.

“No way! I got it right!” Chelsea jumps up and down. “We finally got one right! Put it on the board, Bobby. Do it now!”

Bobby beams at her,jogging over to the board and striking a single line in Chelsea and Gary’s column. “Welcome to the game, guys,” he congratulates them.

“He’d wither away without his protein shake,” you say confidently and Elijah nods. You share a high five.

“She’s right. I wouldn’t want to lose size. I’ve put too much work in,” he says. Bobby says nothing to either of you.

“Moving on… Ladies, who is your partner’s celebrity crush?” 

All that can be heard for a few moments is the sound of scribbling and giggles. The boys show each other their boards and nod approvingly.

“Chelsea, which celeb does Gary fancy?” Bobby says.

“Not to blow my own trumpet,” Chelsea tugged at a strand of her own hair, fighting a blush creeping up her cheeks. “But seeing as Gary picked me and people say I look like her I went for… Rachel Riley.” 

“Who’s that?” Gary says, raising his eyebrows. Chelsea’s distraught look returns.

“She’s on Countdown! You said you liked Countdown! I was feeling really confident…” 

“Just messing,” Gary says, grinning. He turns his board around. “I put Rachel Riley.” Bobby marks another point in their column.

Bobby turns to Hope, but he’s lost any hopes that she might get it right. Hope laughs and turns her board around. It reads _Mary Berry_.

“I don’t think you’re taking this seriously anymore,” Bobby told her, shaking his head. He sort of envied her for that. He was stressing himself out with ever answer you and Elijah got right. “I’m all about Cardi.” The group goes completely silent. “Cardi B, people. The rapper?”

Hope clears her throat. “We know who she is, Bobby. Priya told us about - “

“Our Cardi B lip sync battles? I don’t care what she thinks. My ‘Money’ was better.” You and the girls exchange shocked looks. 

“Where were we? I want to see that,” Rahim bit in.

“So do I,” you say, suddenly gazing with fascination at a hangnail.

“No chance,” Bobby says, heaving a breath and putting his hands on his hips. “That’s between me, Priya and the sexiest woman in rap.” Your brilliant and proud smile is gone when he turns to face you. “You’re up. Which celebrity is Elijah dreaming of?”

Your board reads _Teyana Taylor_. You wait for Elijah’s reaction. He seems pleased.

“Teyana Taylor is fierce,” he affirms. 

“Right then!” Marisol claps her hands together, eyeing Bobby’s scowl carefully. “What is your girl’s pet peeve?”

Bobby writes down Hope’s known pet peeve and holds his board patiently.

“Starting with Elijah,” Marisol says. “What do you think MC’s pet peeve is?”

“I put ‘People who shout at waiters,’“ Elijah says, and _Damn it_ , Bobby thinks because he’s right. Again.

“It’s so rude,” you say frowning at the thought of it. “They’re not your servant!”

“Bobby, what’s Hope’s pet peeve?” Marisol raises her eyebrows at Bobby.

“I put ‘People who take their crying kids to nice restaurants,’“ Bobby answers.

He hates to be the one who reveals to Noah that his one and only doesn’t like kids, but he is. Hope turns her board around and it matches up with Bobby’s. Bobby does a small victory dance.

“Right. Er, for Lottie I put ‘People who pick at their teeth in public,’“ Noah says, giving Lottie a smile. “Because of that time you went berserk on Jakub.”

“Because it’s disgusting… but that’s not what I put.” Lottie gives Noah an apologetic smile and turns her board around. “People who post pictures of their food on social media.”

“No way!” Gary says incredulously. “That’s my pet peeve too!”

Bobby blinks, trying not to give too much away with his expression. You cast a look at him, remembering his career, absently wondering if he does it as a chef.

“ _I_ post photos of my food,” Bobby says blankly. Gary clicks his tongue.

“And you’re a disgrace.”

A few more rounds go by and Bobby and Marisol tally up the final scores. “The winners of today’s competition with a whopping fourteen points are…” Bobby takes another look at the card in Marisol’s hand. “Elijah and MC.” 

The Islanders erupt in cheers. Bobby says nothing, a plain smile on his face as he looks over at you thoughtfully. You catch him for just brief seconds but your phone buzzes before you can say anything.

“I’ve got a text!” you call out above the chatter. 

_Congratulations, Elijah and Hunter! There’s a special treat waiting for you in the kitchen to help you cool down your burning love._

_#justdesserts #iceicebaby_

“It’s ice lollies. I know it is!” Gary says. 

Bobby tries not to feel too downcast that you’ve won the challenge with someone else. “You know sharing is caring, right?” he says, a playful smirk on his lips. Your eyes glitter with an excited competitive glow.

“You’ll have to beat us to the kitchen. Run, Elijah!” The two of you break out in a run and the other islanders sprint toward the kitchen behind you. 

Bobby looks dejected, suddenly detached from your childlike fun. He had gotten so used to being the other half of your winning team. Part of him wondered if he had even been detrimental to being the winning team or if it was just something special about you all along. He quickly shook it off and tried to get back to the other Island passivity with his friends by the pool.

The Island sun beats down on them as they enjoy their ice lollies near the day beds. “This is the life,” Bobby sighs out. Lottie gives Noah a nudge with her arm.

“We did better than I expected us to, Noah,” she comments mildly.

“I was really impressed at how much you knew about me. You’re a good listener,” Noah said back.

Graham yawned in his patch of shade. “So did no one else think it was a bit tame?” he asks, raising his eyebrows at them.

You move the damp towel off your head and turn to look at him. “I thought the game was quite fun,” you say, stretching out like a cat. “We all learned something new about each other.”

Graham shrugs and holds his hands out beside him. “But what about all the dirt?” he asks.

“What were you hoping for?” Chelsea finishes off her ice lolly and hops off the bed, taking the bare sticks from the other Islanders. “Stories of sexual escapades gone wrong?”

“In a nutshell, yes,” Graham replied earnestly.

“There’s probably loads of juicy stuff we could find out about,” Chelsea says. 

“So why don’t we grab the boards and keep on playing?” Graham sat up on the edge of the bed, getting a wave of sunshine and squinting against it.

Bobby grinned mischievously. “Yes! I want to know everyone’s dirty, dirty secrets!” 

Hope yawned, sitting up from her spot on the daybeds. “It sounds like a laugh. I’m in.”

The game starts off steamy, asking questions about the boys’ favorite sex positions and the girls’ strangest hookups. You finally get the chance to ask a question of your own. You immediately hop in with _worst break-up ever_. 

“Bobby, you go first,” you say as you gratefully accept another ice lolly from Elijah.

“I have to go first?” Bobby turns beet red under your investigative gaze. “Right. No one judge me. I dumped someone… by text.” He receives a ripple of groans from everyone.

“I’d expect this off one of the other boys… but you?” Hope looks a bit disappointed, but not as wildly confused as you.

Bobby sighs, avoiding your eyes. “Yeah, it wasn’t my finest moment.”

After a few more rounds, the game runs out of steam and the Islanders get ready to call it a day. The group breaks off into smaller ones and Bobby finds himself in the shade again with Lottie, who follows his gaze to where you and Elijah sit by the pool, splashing each other lightly until you both tumble into the pool and wind up laughing in each others’ arms.

“So… They won the challenge,” Lottie states. Bobby says nothing back. “How do you feel about that?”

He’s quiet for a few seconds more, trying to choose his words carefully. “It’s not a nice feeling, watching her win a couples challenge with someone else. It’s like, bloody hell. How do you know each other that well already, you know?”

“I actually wouldn’t know. Watching Gary and Chelsea…” Lottie shakes her head and laughs lightly. “I reckon Chelsea’s the only one who looked as frustrated as you. Can’t blame her, really.”

Bobby tries to busy his hands with his water bottle, twisting and untwisting the lid to it as he tried to find more to say. “I did get to talk to her though. She said she had feelings for me.”

Lottie coos and gives him a sympathetic pout. “That’s amazing!”

“Yeah, it was. It would’ve stayed that way if she wasn’t always loving up on Elijah right in front of me, you know?” Bobby finally screwed the lid back on. “I’m not usually the jealous type at all. I know she has the right to try it, because they are coupled up. It would just be nice to not feel like I’m being strung along.”

“You’re not,” Lottie assures him. “Trust me, she’s a loyal one.”

He wants to believe her. Before he can say anything that tempts him not to, he stands up and retreats to the kitchen to top up his bottle.

~~~

The boys are dressing up for bed in their own dressing room while the girls dress in theirs. Noah comes into the room finding Elijah and thumping him on the back in congratulations.

“There’s the winning smile!” Noah says as Elijah beams. “Congrats today, mate!”

“Yeah, it’s wild! I think MC and I have really connected since we coupled up,” Elijah says and Bobby rummages through his clothes for a pair of pajamas. 

“That’s awesome, mate.” Rahim wipes his face down with a cloth.

“Has she said anything to you?” Bobby asks, trying not to let his jealousy seep into his voice.

“Not much. We did share a cheeky kiss this morning…” Elijah trails off as he breaks out into another smile. “Or two or three.”

The excited buzz of conversation in the room is swallowed the the silence that follows. The other boys glance over at Bobby as if expecting him to become a sudden hazard, but his face is blank as this is not news to him.

He looks at them innocently and raises his eyebrows. “Expecting an outrage, lads?” he says, pulling his pajamas on. He looks Elijah directly in the eye. “May the best man win.”

~~~

The next few days are almost a daze to Bobby. Fighting broke out in the Villa and he quickly rushed to repair it. If he wasn’t mistaken, the two of you even shared a flirty moment in the mess of it all when the Islanders asked to settle the mysterious purring. Bobby had given you a wink, saying, “I have my suspicions.”

The meticulous fighting that often broke out among roommates died down at last and Bobby had returned to his position in the kitchen. Lottie and Hope sandwiched him in a hug just as you entered the kitchen and Bobby asked you a question that turned both your faces red.

“How do you like your eggs?”

Trying to keep things casual before anyone could notice, you informed him you liked them scrambled. “They’re my fave. Ooh, the Mexican ones with the tomato and peppers in are lush.”

Elijah popped into the conversation for the first time, killing Bobby’s signature morning grin. “That’s your fave, is it? What the lady wants she gets.”

You melted, pressing your hands to your chest in surprise.

“You’re making me breakfast?” you ask him and he smiles. “That’s sweet.”

“I’m very sweet when I want to be.” Elijah winks at you. Behind him, Bobby rolls his eyes. Again, it’s strange to watch you do coupley things with Elijah rather than him. But subtlety wasn’t Elijah’s strong suit. Making you breakfast was the mark Bobby had made and Elijah was trying to copy off him like homework. He doesn’t feel threatened, just mildly annoyed.

Lottie chips in, “I like them sunny side up, babes.”

Bobby looks a little taken aback. “The irony. I thought you’d try to hide their light with beans, Queen of Darkness.”

“Oh, there’ll be beans,” Lottie replies. “Who said there wouldn’t be?”

Lottie elbows Bobby and he pokes her in the side playfully. They both glance over at you but you’re busied by shaking your juice up in your bottle. A bit trickles out and Elijah points to it on the ground while you laugh.

“Look!” he said, trying not to laugh as he pulled off a strip of paper towel to clean it up. “You’ve made a mess, babe!”

As he resumes his job at the stove, he chirps some more about egg breakfast.

“Eggs are good, but eggy bread is better. It’s like upgraded toast,” Elijah stated. Gary groans, closes his eyes and melts into the thought of it.

“Ooh, eggy bread,” he says dreamily. He adds, “With ketchup.”

Marisol wrinkles her nose. “That sounds disgusting.”

The conversation about eggs has grown tiresome for the lot of them, so it dies down as they tuck into their breakfasts alone. The clatter of cutlery and laughter fills the kitchen as the Islanders enjoy their breakfast spread.

“Everyone is just this big massive ball of positivity,” Chelsea comments.

“Too right. I could get used to life like this. No worries, no drama…” Gary sighs and leans back in his bar stool. 

Graham wipes breadcrumbs off his hands against his swim trunks. “Yeah, it’s OK…. I guess…” Marisol prods him lightly in the arm.

“What’s wrong, Graham? Are you missing the danger of the open sea?”

Graham eyes Bobby, who’s gone silent, barely picking at his own food. “No, just when things are this calm on the boat… it normally means a storm’s coming.”

New girls filed into the Villa just seconds later. Your face is hard to read with your sunglasses on, but you stiffen as Elijah offers the new girls breakfast, completely enchanted, not sparing you a second look.

Bobby finds a spot next to you and nudges you with his elbow when he realizes you’re watching Elijah. “I sense a bit of tension,” he comments below his breath.

You look up at him with wide eyes, moving your sunglasses back on top of your head and plastering on a fake smile. “Absolutely not. I’m terrific,” you say, praying he can’t see past it.

He squints an eye at you. “That’s a lie.” You give him a hollow laugh.

“Fine, I might be a little bit,” you say quietly, pinching your fingers together. “Just this much. He practically jumped over me to go greet them. I felt so…” You motion wildly with you hands and he gives you a sad look.

“Invisible,” he says dryly. You nod slowly, but realization comes over you.

“Oh. Oh, you mean…” You trail off, your eyes trained on his face as he turns his attention back to the group.

“How do you like your eggs then, ladies?” Bobby says, leaving your side.

“Scrambled,” Elisa says immediately, her smile wry. 

You narrow your eyes as she takes a step closer to Elijah. Your eyes shoot over to Jo, whose stance is a bit too close to Bobby. You’re unsure what to say or who to speak to now.

“Same here! With a bit of hot sauce…” Jo claps her hands. “So lush.”

“You like mixing things up then?” you quip, crossing your arms and keeping your lips pursed.

Bobby raises his eyebrow at you. “Because they like scrambled eggs,” he says. “Didn’t you just say they were your favorite too?”

You stammer out the beginning of a few retorts that don’t come out. You’re unprepared for his sudden change of attitude and frankly gobsmacked by it.

“Who do you fancy then?” Hope says above the noise. “Let’s just get to it.”

Elisa’s smile falters and she rubs her arm nervously. “This is a bit awks. I mean, the guys are right here.”

The girls break off toward the poolside and start to discuss among themselves. Bobby lets Elijah take charge of the rest of breakfast, still struggling to make himself eat what’s left of his as he realizes the hostility you probably interpreted from what he said. He shakes his head when he remembers what’s just happened, knowing he can’t take it back, but knowing it was only boiling up until now.

Soon enough, Gary offers the new girls his tour of the Villa. It’s well obvious that he’s only offering it so he can flex his biceps at them, but no one points it out. 

Jo receives a text at the very beginning of it, putting the tour to an abrupt stop.

_Jo and Elisa, you’ve got some catching up to do. Pick your two favorite boys and get ready for your first dates._

_#singleandreadytomingle #doubledates_

“Well, this is easy. I pick Elijah and Noah.” Elisa eyes them hungrily and ignores your frantic glance at Hope.

Jo studies over the line of boys, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “I’m going to pick Ibrahim… And Bobby.”

Bobby’s breath hitches in his throat and he feels your eyes on him. For once he doesn’t turn to assure you, which surprisingly doesn’t make him feel better at all. 

~~~

The date isn’t heinous. But Jo lacks a certain wit that he finds hot about you. She stumbles over his words which wouldn’t have been a deal breaker, he realizes, if he wasn’t comparing her skittish habits to your impressively collected ones. Even watching you go on brief chats with boys as stunning as Lucas, you were able to keep your calm and your banter. With Jo, it just wasn’t there.

By the end of the date, he was growing annoyed with himself for comparing her every move to yours. He was mad at you… wasn’t he? If he was, he was rubbish at being mad and this was only proving it.

He ends the date with a friendly handshake - a _handshake_ … what? - and a polite smile, heading back toward the Villa with a new frantic sense of urgency to see you. To hear you. To kiss you. As he caught eyes with Elijah, who gave him a small up-nod, he was quickly let back down to Earth, where you were coupled up with Elijah and he was coupled up with Hope.

Bobby had gotten himself so excited for the date beforehand, trying hard not to glance in your direction, but failing, seeing your crestfallen face as you listen to him buzz about possible date locations for him and Jo. Under normal circumstances he would have rushed to let you know he’d be back to fill you in on it all, but he wasn’t sure he could speak to you without saying another thing he might regret. He also wasn’t sure how the date itself would go. If he wound up having a great time, you weren’t exactly going to be overjoyed to hear about it from him. Or were you? 

Urgh. He was riling himself up just thinking about it. He had spared you a look, and you gave him a small wink. Realizing you weren’t completely frustrated with him, he returned the favor. But that didn’t change everything that had gone down before.

Your kiss with Elijah. Then the talk about having feelings for each other. Then winning the Mr and Mrs challenge with Elijah. Then flirting right under his nose at breakfast. Then you expressed jealousy over Elijah to him. Then he called you out for hypocritically condemning Jo and Elisa’s choice of eggs. What was that about? He was getting far too twisted up about this. 

This was twisted though. It was complicated and rocky, but he was a little more infatuated because of it. It occurred to him that, just like he was a little in his own head about Priya, it was likely you were in a similar state of mind about Elijah.

“You alright, mate?” Elijah says, giving Bobby concerned look. “You look really lost in thought. Your face was getting all twisted, kind of constipated - “

“I’m fine,” Bobby replied curtly, trying to shake himself out of his trance.

They headed back into the Villa with the rest of the crew, and Bobby found himself instinctively drawn to the sound of your laughter mixed in with Marisol’s as you both emerged from the stairs to the roof terrace. 

“It’s not the first time I’ve got semi-naked and sweaty on a date,” Jo says. She starts running a manicured hand up and down Rahim’s arm.

“It was great. I feel so much more relaxed now,” Rahim says, smiling appreciatively at the gesture.

Elisa’s latched onto Elijah’s arm. “Ours was more like a rom-com. Elijah couldn’t stop laughing!” On cue, Elijah bursts into more laughter.

“Because it tickled! I’m not used to people touching me there.”

Elisa covered her mouth, and you reckon she might be blushing underneath all the make-up. “And I rolled off the table…”

Elijah laughed again. “So embarrassing, but it was cute.”

You cut in, your voice feeling detached from your body. “What are you guys talking about?”

“MC! Just telling the guys about my date,” Elijah says, beaming fantastically at you. He says nothing more, so Bobby joins in to explain.

“The dates were at a couples spa. We all got bubbly and massages.” He leaves it at that, studying your face for a reaction.

“A couples spa? That sounds awfully romantic for a first date,” you say, finding solace in the solitary hangnail once again. “Massages and champagne.”

Elijah sighs as he relives the date, eyes shut. “I thought it was more relaxing than romantic.”

You eye him for a moment but your eyes find Bobby’s instead. “I always thought couples spas were, well…” You shrug, dropping your gaze. “Something couples who had been together a while did.”

Elisa defends the dates quickly. “I think it’s for anyone who enjoys a spa.”

Bobby watches Elijah take a seat beside you as Ibrahim finds a spot next to Shannon. Noah edges over to Hope, and Bobby stands on his own, trying not to feel too lonely.

“It sounds like you guys really got a long,” you say quietly to Elijah, trying to keep a friendly smile on.

“It was a fun day. Made a nice change from here.” He wires an arm around your waist. Bobby sees you turn stiff. “The only thing that would have made it better was if I had been there with you.” He presses a kiss on your shoulder. Bobby notes the smile that follows looks more like a grimace, but he’s not sure why.

You get up shortly, making some excuse to refill your water bottle, and follow Shannon to the kitchen. Bobby shoves his hands into his pocket, no longer interested in filling the guys in on the lousy date, and saunters off as well.

~~~

Discomfort spills into the Villa later that evening when news gets out that Jo and Ibrahim shared a kiss on their date, which is actually news to Bobby as well, but he doesn’t waste more time feeding the fire. He offered a hand in sorting things out, spouting something about Judge Bobby to stir up nostalgia. 

“Lay on the facts to me,” Bobby says, opening his arms dramatically. “Let me help you guys.”

The entire group has started to grill you to sort things out and play mediator. You gave him a grateful look that turned pleading as you realized the direction this spat was going.

“Actually, we could do with some mediating to sort this out,” you say. You suddenly feel very tired of sorting things out in the Villa as if you were supervising children.You’re shocked out of exhaustion by Elisa’s sudden lash.

“No. We don’t need him right now.” Elisa gives Bobby a cold glare that she follows with a clashing apology.

Hope pipes up. “We don’t want to spread this gossip any further.”

“Yes, Bobby. You need to leave. The same goes for the rest of you guys.” Shannon’s face is red and her cheeks glisten with unexpected tears. The boys don’t object to their dismissal. Bobby reluctantly fled to the pool, giving you a sad glance as he went.

“I just wanted to make you girls were all okay,” he says. Truthfully, he just wanted them to leave the two of you out of it so you could sort out your own conflicts. But it wasn’t easy watching the folks he’d grown to call family go for the throat at every wrong turn. “Well… I’m always here if you want to talk about stuff.” He trudges off on his own while the other guys head inside the Villa.

He remains by the pool, dipping his toes in the water, staring into the stars that reflect off it whenever he’s not watching you make your best attempt to mend things. As time goes by, he notices your shoulder slump more and more hopelessly as they turn to you for advice then toss it out completely over and over again. 

Finally, you make your way toward him away from the noise. He looks up at you, his face immediately brightens.

“Hey, gorgeous,” he says as you take a seat next to him and join him in sending small ripples down the surface of the pool. He nods back toward the kitchen where the bickering carries on like you never left. “Sorry I wasn’t much help back there.”

You sigh and pull your legs toward your chest. “Not your fault. I would’ve loved to have a co-captain back there. I’m so tired of playing supervisor.”

“I was just worried about you lot.” Bobby shakes his head and smiles painfully. “But I think I might have made things worse.”

“You did nothing wrong, Bobby,” you assure him, looking him straight in the eye for emphasis. 

He looks unsure at first, biting back a smile. “You really think?”

“It’s not your fault everyone was too caught up in the argument.”

“You’re right, you’re so right.” Bobby shakes his head again. The moonlight reflects off his head, framing him perfectly like a dream. “I hate seeing people argue like that. I never used to care about drama. Save the drama for the stage or the TV screen, y’know?”

You smile at him and wrap your arms around his torso, burying yourself in his warmth. “I’ll protect you,” you whisper. His eyes shine as he smirks at you, wrapping his arms around you in return.

“Oh, please do.” His smile falters again. “It’s just different in here. I feel responsible for everything and that means I always want to fix everything. You know, like…” He hesitates and wraps a lock of your hair around his pointer finger. “Like with us and everything and all that history. It’s the same.” You respond by adjusting your wrap around his body, giving him a gentle squeeze. “I always want to fix this kind of stuff, and when I can’t, it’s like… My whole world falls apart a little bit.”

He sighs and kicks the water. A little drop splashes up on your toes.

“It isn’t your responsibility,” you remind him, but you know there’s little you can say to convince him that it isn’t. He leans his head against yours.

“Sometimes I feel like it is. When I was the judge, I really felt like I took on that role and all the responsibility that comes with it.” Bobby runs a stressed hand through his hair, sighing exhaustively. “Maybe you’re right, though. Perhaps that’s too much for me to take on in here. It’s good to just talk it out sometimes. Takes the weight off.”

He’s quiet for a moment and you take a peek at his face. “Looking for a solution to every problem can be exhausting,” he says at last. He yawns on cue. “Speaking of exhausted…” He sends a dreaded look toward the Villa. “I’ve got a pillow wall to cuddle up to.”

You chuckle and he seems glad to have made you laugh. You take your arms off him and lean back. You take a moment to look at one another and pretend not to glance down at each other’s lips.

“This chat actually meant so much to me,” he tells you, his voice lower and huskier than normal. “And not only that… _You_ really do, like…” He rubs his eye with one hand as a smile comes over him. “Mean a lot to me, too.” He looks down at the ground to try and fail to hide his grin. “Come on, we should head off to bed and get some rest.” 

You both rise to your feet. You give a shudder at the brisk cool air and he wraps an arm around your shoulders to keep warm.

“A good sleep always makes things feel a little better,” he says as you walk back to the Villa. The drama feels more like a distant memory.

You lay in bed, your back to Bobby’s bed beside you and spare a thought to turning to look at him to see how serious he was about cuddling the pillow wall. You turn over in bed just in time to see him look away from you. He realizes you’ve turned to look at him and a pearly smile cuts through the dark room.

“Ears burning?” he whispers as you prop yourselves up on elbows to look at one another.

“That’s if you’re talking about someone and they show up, isn’t it?”

He points to his head. “I dunno, the little Bobbies up here are talking up a storm.”

You laugh quietly and reach across the divide between your beds. He reciprocates, reaching across to link his fingers with yours. “Good night, Bobby,” you say beneath your breath.

“Good night, lass.” He’s almost asleep by the time he slurs the words out.

~~~

The next morning, the girls have disappeared again. The boys bide their time wisely by partaking in some innocent pirate roleplaying. Once the girls return, you announce to the group that you’ve received another text.

_Islanders, tonight you will enjoy a home-cooked feast prepared for you by one couple, chosen by our viewers._

Bobby beams, clearly excited by the announcement. “Awright! Pick me, pick me!” He’s the obvious choice, considering he’s a caterer. A moment later, it’s revealed the viewers have picked you and Elijah, however.

Elijah wraps his arms around you, surprising you from behind. You jump at first, then you laugh, holding onto his arms with your hands. 

“We got this!” he says, kissing you on the head. 

Bobby feels another bout of jealousy burning in the pit of his stomach. His excited grin collapses into a worried frown. He follows the other Islanders indoors and takes a seat at the long tables. They’re all buzzing about what they hope you and Elijah brandish from the kitchen, but Bobby stares distractedly at the door, excluding himself from the conversation as he thinks back to last night.

His hands were growing cold but they were still grossly sweaty. _Clammy hands,_ Bobby noted. It was a first for him. He tried to place why it was happening but he worried himself even more when he noticed his leg bouncing.

Hope raises her brows at him. “Er, Bobby. You alright?” she says, motioning to his leg. He freezes it and gives her a smile.

“Just so excited to see what they come up with!” he responds. “You reckon either of them are good chefs?”

“We were just saying.” Lottie crosses one leg over the other. “MC mentioned being rather good but we’re clueless about Elijah. He might surprise us.”

Shannon arches her brow as she takes a sip of her wine. “Really? That’s where your concern lies? The food they bring out? Personally I just want to know if they get up to any, you know…” She shimmies her shoulders and winks. “Kitchen bits.”

The thought hadn’t even occurred to Bobby. He missed the bliss he was granted just moments ago. Lottie notices the shattered look on Bobby’s face and shakes her head.

“With _Elijah?_ No way,” she says. “Unless I’ve read her all wrong. I doubt it though. She’d only get up to that with someone she’s got a lot of history with,” She looks at Bobby, “…or someone who presented the opportunity themselves and Elijah…” She shrugs and wrinkles her nose. “He’s more on the vanilla side of these things.”

Bobby smiles gratefully at her. “Makes sense,” Bobby says.

“At least we know they’re not rushing the task. I’m a bit hungry now!” Elisa moans from the other end of the table.

“Anybody want to guess what they made?” Bobby suggested half-heartedly. 

“Here they come!” Elisa sits up attentively, far past ready to tuck in.

You and Elijah emerge from the kitchen, a flattering glow on both of your faces. The Islanders cheer, having had plenty of time for anticipation to build. Gary looks at the plate you’ve set in front of him and his jaw drops.

“This is well fancy,” he says, astonished. You laugh.

“It’s just pasta,” you reply and he grins.

“Is it? Maybe it’s the presentation then.” You catch on what he means and your cheeks flush involuntarily.

Hope looks down at her plate with awe. “This must have been quite a lot of work,” she says. “Bobby, seal of approval?”

You look at Bobby and he sees a new shine in your eyes. He tucks into his first bite.

“It’s incredible!” he confirms, grinning at you and trying not to overthink the way Elijah’s arm hung on your waist. “So, er… what are we having then?”

“Linguine with shaved Parmesan and capers.” You flourish a proud hand over your own plate. Bobby rises to his feet grandly.

“I’d like to propose a toast to Elijah and MC, our culinary hosts for the evening.” He flashes you a meaningful smile, visibly impressed with your hidden skill. “Elijah, you’re a lucky guy… MC, you can do better!”

Elijah’s gratified winning smile falls. You raise an eyebrow at Bobby, oddly entertained. You and Elijah join the other Islanders at the dinner table beneath the stars. The pleasant clinks of plates and silverware warms your heart as the Islanders start to eat avidly what you’ve put together.

“Mm.” Graham takes a second to swallow what he’s forked up. “The shaved Parmesan and capers brings it all together really nicely.”

Marisol nods enthusiastically. “It’s really nice! At least one of you must cook often, MC?”

Elijah takes your hand and nods. “She said she was a great cook.”

Bobby’s eyes flicker over to your hand in Elijah’s. He looks you in the eye and you lose your composure for a brief moment, suddenly taken back to your talk with him beneath the stars last night. “She wasn’t kidding. This is tasty.”

“Thanks everyone,” you say, suddenly flustered by the amount of attention you were receiving. You pass it on to Elijah. “Elijah was the perfect sous chef.”

Marisol looks between you two thoughtfully. “I was wondering how those power dynamics would work out. I’d learn a lot about a couple if I watched them in the kitchen.” Her eyes drop down to her plate and she pauses to study it. Carefully, she looks at you and says, “Did you two bond?”

“The pressure of having to cook for all of you definitely brought us closer together.”

Bobby’s face is unreadable now. He slows his eating pace by a few miles.

“I was saying to her earlier! It’s a positive sign for us as a couple that we got on so well - “ Elijah’s cut off by Lottie.

“Or MC’s just easy to get along with,” she says coolly. “I don’t know a soul she didn’t get on well with. She’s awesome that way.”

Marisol glances at Lottie, then at Bobby, then finally at you and Elijah beside each other. “Very interesting,” she says quietly. Marisol takes a big bite out of her meal and smiles at Graham as she chews. 

Elisa looks a bit displeased with her meal.

“The one bit of feedback I’d give is that the texture of the linguine is a bit off,” she says.

Elijah turns brick red. “Yeah, we may have gotten a little bit distracted while cooking…”

Bobby’s eyes shoot to yours. This time the pain is hard to mask. 

“You mean you did kitchen bits?” he says, sounding a bit forlorn. The group goes on a tangent about kitchen bits while Bobby stares at you with disdain.

“Yeah, she said she was all about doing kitchen bits!” Elijah says happily.

Bobby’s gaze turns coldly to Elijah. “So of course you had to get in some kitchen bits of your own.”

You shift uncomfortably in your seat. “It was only a kiss,” you hiss at Elijah. “And it was meant to be private. You couldn’t just say we got distracted?”

The rest of the dinner flies by as you try to catch Bobby’s eye. He avoids your gaze at all costs, still cracking jokes and making good fun of the night, but giving you the silent treatment exclusively. 

Regret clouds your vision in the form of hot tears as the group talks about pirates, their end games, and jokes. You barely pay attention. You don’t even notice when your phone buzzes until Hope points it out.

“I got a text,” you say blankly. 

_MC and Elijah, congratulations on treating your fellow Islanders to tonight’s meal of linguine with shaved Parmesan and capers… Tomorrow night, the boys will choose who they want to recouple with, and the public will decide who picks first._

_#justdesserts #decisionsdecisions_

You finish reading the text and a thick silence settles on the group.

Elijah interrupts it, beaming at you. He sits up straighter and quietly points at you. “I already decided,” he announces. You finally let as much of the displeasure seep into your face as possible, your eyes immediately darting over to Bobby, who’s given you the first glance since the news about the kitchen bits came out.

Hope buzzes about being excited to finally couple up with Noah. Bobby gives her a victorious hug, but his eyes stay glued to you. You wrestle Elijah’s arm off your shoulders and give Bobby pleading look you hope he understands. The meal ends on a high note and soon it’s just you and Bobby hanging back by yourselves.

“Hey, MC?” He shuffles uncomfortably. “Could we have a quick word in private? It’s about - “

“The recoupling,” you finish his sentence effortlessly, nodding. “Yeah, I was going to grab you for a chat too. I have to clear the air about a lot of things actually.” He’s quiet and it’s dark, but you can see the pain in his eyes. “Roof terrace?” you ask him, holding out a hand for him to hold. He glances down at it but keeps his hands in his pockets.

“Roof terrace,” he agrees. You and Bobby quietly make your way up to the roof terrace, unnoticed by anyone. Your knees touch just slightly as you sit together under the stars.

He’s giving you a wary look, as if he isn’t sure what to say yet. You reach over and tuck a lock of hair behind Bobby’s ear.

“I’m so sorry,” you say first. He grasps for the words to say but he just gives you a defeated look, his eyes glossing in the moonlight. “I’ve been so unclear about everything lately and it’s just cruel of me to leave you in the dark. You don’t deserve that. You didn’t deserve to be put on the spot during Mr and Mrs, that question was far too personal to be fun. You’re entitled to every snide remark you’ve made about me and Elijah, because…” You fumble for the right way to apologize, already lost in the wording. “I’ve been so confused because I - I see you with Lottie, and it kinda kills me a little. So I figure, I better keep my options open too, just in case he’s not that into me.”

Shock overcomes his senses and he lets out an involuntary laugh. “Me and Lottie? You… think I like Lottie?”

“The lip balm, then you offered to share a bed, then you two were all in sync about getting Hope and Noah back together and I was like, what a power couple move that would have been, if we did it together.” You feel your nerves rising and it comes to your attention your eyes are welling up with angry tears. “But we didn’t. You guys did. And you were making breakfast together and all I wanted to do was feel a little less unwanted so I don’t know… maybe I let myself think Elijah was the key to that.”

Bobby sits in stunned silence, already unsure what to make of what you’ve said.

“I’ve only ever had eyes for you,” he promises you, finally reaching over and taking your hand in both of his. “What I wanted to take you up here to say was just that. I think if you wanted Elijah to pick you, there’s really nobody else in here for me. Hand on heart, I would go. Or if you left the Villa, I think I might walk right out of here with you. Because there’s nobody else I’d share a bed with or cook with or laugh with.” He rubs the back of your hand with his thumbs. “Because for me, it’s you. For better or worse, it’s you.”

Your face is still growing hot, but you’re no longer sure if it’s because you’re angry, sad, or intensely happy to hear him say he wants you.

“You know, when we first started getting to know each other, I wasn’t sure if you really fancied me,” you tell him. “You get along with everyone pretty well, and you’re a bit hard to read…” You scrunch up your nose at him. “And you encourage me to go on dates with Henriks and Lucases…”

He winces and smiles sheepishly. “I didn’t want to be the jealous boyfriend…”

The word slips out of his mouth before he can stop it. He pauses and tries to correct himself, but you hold a finger to his mouth. “No, I don’t mind. I get it now. I just didn’t know whether or not you were serious about me or what.”

“Yeah, you’re not the first girl to tell me something like that.” Bobby bows his head in shame. He meets your eye again. “Do you still feel that way? Like I’m hard to read?”

“Sometimes,” you say earnestly. “I don’t always know where your head is at.”

He gives you a cheeky grin. “Usually it’s attached to my neck, just above my shoulders.” You laugh, which causes him to laugh in turn. “I like you,” he says, giving you a promising smile. “You’re like a lemon drizzle cake. Sweet but a little sharp.”

You raise an eyebrow at him. “What… what does that mean?”

“I mean sharp like smart!” 

“Good save,” you say, rolling your eyes despite a smile. “I guess if you’re willing to compare me to baked goods that’s a good sign.”

“The best, babe.” He looks off to the side, suddenly hesitant. “I… I have to say it’s good to hear it from you, but I’ve been feeling a little burnt by this whole Elijah fiasco for a while now. I don’t know how obvious I’ve been. I mean, I try not to hang my head but there’s this _girl_ …” He rolls his eyes playfully as you wrap yourself around his torso again.

“Oh, this girl. Is she pretty?” you ask him, enjoying the feeling of his warmth against your face. 

“Absolutely stunning,” he says. You pull out of the hug with a satisfied grin. “She’s a bit of a tease though.”

You give him a playful shove. “What do you mean by that?”

“It’s not easy seeing you do coupley things with Elijah,” he admits, rubbing a spot behind his ear. “I wasn’t too stumped at first, when you told him it was a friendship couple. But the next morning, I…” He falters. “I couldn’t sleep, see. It’s going to sound melty but… it’s been hard since we’ve split up. I haven’t slept right since. Last night was a lot better.” He laces his fingers through yours again, smiling at the memory of your talk and hand holding into sleep.

“You miss me?” you say, a little astonished.

“Maybe a bit. Or maybe it’s just the purring… a good white noise is always good.”

You look at him in shock. “It isn’t me!” you insist.

“It is you! I think it’s endearing, love.” He pulls you back toward him for a hug. 

“ _Lass_ ,” you say back, in your best impression of his Scottish accent. 

“Sweet, short, but definitely not Scottish.” Bobby presses your forehead against his. “I’ve missed doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“Just talking. Sitting with you. The whole shebang,” he answers.

“We do that all the time in the Villa,” you remind him, leaning in so that your lips are hovering just above each other.

His breath is warm and racy. You’re not sure how much longer you can wait to kiss him. He cradles your face in his hand, caressing your cheekbone.

“Damn, you’re right,” he says, smirking just slightly. “I guess there’s this one thing…”

He closes the space between you with a passionate kiss. Every ounce of desperation and tension between you from before is a distant memory. His energy is fierce but not forceful; he waits for you to deepen the kiss to do anything more. You only break apart to do the tedious act that is breathing.

“I care about you so much,” he says breathlessly. “It drives me kind of crazy.”

He cuddles up to you, burying his face in your hair. 

You smile. “Bet I care more,” you reply. 

“Bet I care most,” he quips back, not missing a beat. He winks at you and kisses your cheek, but his eyes are serious. “I meant what I said. I think if you ever the Villa, I’d walk straight out after you.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” You mean it, too. “So… unrelated to anything recent at all…. I think I might knock myself out on the daybeds tonight.” You give him a mischievous grin. “It’s a bit windy out tonight so I might get chilly.”

“I’ll bring out some extra blankets if you need,” he suggests. 

“You goof.” You smack his arm gently. “I meant you could join me.”

“Whatever will the people say!” He looks thoughtful for a second. “I’m in. But only if we get to build a pillow fort to ward off the mosquitoes.”

“Perfect. Although I’m pretty sure what I had in mind might make all that a bit frivolous…” You look at him from beneath your eyelashes. He takes a minute to realize what you mean. When he does, his cheeks go red.

“Oh! Oh, I won’t say no to that, lass.” He makes his way to the stairs, procuring a graceful arm and bowing dramatically. “Does the lady want to be escorted?”

You smile, relieved to see him bouncing again. You hadn’t realized how much you enjoyed being the reason he was smiling. “The lady does,” you reply, taking his arm and taking part in the dramatics until you reach the daybeds. You dissolve in his arms, finally feeling safe and collected. You hear him breathing out a soft collection of words just before you fall asleep.

“I love a good love story,” Bobby says, pressing a kiss on your head. “But I have to admit, I love this more.” He pauses and for a second you believe he’s fallen asleep. “I love you most.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is the longest one-shot I've ever written so my apologies for any mistakes! Let me know what you think in the comments or in my inbox on Tumblr - @venueska!


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